Squid Lovers Switch Sex Positions In Response To Partner’s Signals

This squid is a learning lover. Photo Credit: harum.koh/Wikimedia Commons
This squid listens when he makes love. Photo Credit: harum.koh/Wikimedia Commons

When it comes to interesting cephalopod sex lives, squid seem to have drawn the short straw. Argonauts, their cousins, keep things interesting with swimming, detachable penises. Giant Pacific Octopus mating involves several hours of rough, squishy grabbing action that would make Toshio Maeda blush. But squid just get a quick hello, a few colorful flashes, and second or two of perfunctory sperm delivery—or so it would seem. A new study suggests that for all they lack in kink, bigfin reef squid do have engaging sex lives. As explained in a new paper in The Biological Bulletin, these randy cephalopods take direction well, switching up their sexual position at a female’s behest to improve their odds of successfully mating. Continue reading “Squid Lovers Switch Sex Positions In Response To Partner’s Signals”